Yasemin Afacan

An interdisciplinary heuristic evaluation method for universal building design

This study highlights how heuristic evaluation as a usability evaluation method can feed into current building design practice to conform to universal design principles. It provides a definition of universal usability that is applicable to an architectural design context. It takes the seven universal design principles as a set of heuristics and applies an iterative sequence of heuristic evaluation in a shopping mall, aiming to achieve a cost-effective evaluation process. The evaluation was composed of three consecutive sessions. First, five evaluators from different professions were interviewed regarding the construction drawings in terms of universal design principles. Then, each evaluator was asked to perform the predefined task scenarios. In subsequent interviews, the evaluators were asked to re-analyze the construction drawings. The results showed that heuristic evaluation could successfully integrate universal usability into current building design practice in two ways: (i) it promoted an iterative evaluation process combined with multi-sessions rather than relying on one evaluator and on one evaluation session to find the maximum number of usability problems, and (ii) it highlighted the necessity of an interdisciplinary ad hoc committee regarding the heuristic abilities of each profession. A multi-session and interdisciplinary heuristic evaluation method can save both the project budget and the required time, while ensuring a reduced error rate for the universal usage of the built environments.

An ontology-based universal design knowledge support system

An effective and efficient knowledge support system is crucial for universal design process, as it has become a major design issue in the last decade with the growth of the elderly population and disabled people. There are a limited number of CAD investigations on the nature of knowledge processing that supports the cognitive activities of universal design process. Therefore, this paper proposes an ontology-based computer-assisted universal design (CAUD) plug-in tool that supports designers in developing satisfactory universal design solutions in the conceptual design phase. The required knowledge processing and representation of the developed tool is motivated by the ontological language. It is based on the multiple divergence-convergence cognitive strategies and cognitive needs of designers in the analysis/synthesis/evaluation operations. The CAUD plug-in tool is the first attempt to interface the universal design knowledge ontologically and respond to the requirements of conceptual design phase. According to the user acceptance study, the tool is assessed as useful, understandable, efficient, supportive and satisfactory.

Achieving Inclusion in Public Spaces: A Shopping Mall Case Study

Designing inclusive spaces can be seen as a response to accommodate diverse people within the built environment as efficiently, effectively, and satisfactorily as possible, regardless of health, body size, strength, experience, mobility and/or age. Although technological innovation has brought many benefits into architecture and planning, it is still difficult to embed inclusive design into real-world applications. Reviewing the literature on inclusion in the architectural design context indicates that an in-depth understanding to the diverse user of matching marketing purposes is lacking. Consequently, defining the user in the built environment as an ‘average person’ creates user-unfriendly public spaces. “Design exclusion does not come about by chance: it comes about through neglect, ignorance and a lack of adequate data and information” (Cassim et al., 2007). One of the main reasons for that is: most design practitioners are unable to take inclusive design into account during the initial phases of the design process, which leads to wrong decisions that can have a large impact on the overall design success and cost. The second reason is related to theory-practice inconsistency (Afacan and Erbug, 2009). Although there are guidelines and accessibility standards, designers have difficulty in utilising this academic source of information (Gregor et al., 2005). However, Nicolle et al. (2003) added, “Designers are under a great deal of time pressure: if knowledge is not presented in a usable format, it will be either discarded or ignored.” Therefore, although most designers are aware of universal design, problems appear in the integration of theories and guidelines into design practice (Demirkan, 2007).

Public toilets: an exploratory study on the demands, needs, and expectations in Turkey

Provision of public toilets is not only a matter of land use, but also an essential design and planning concern. This study examines the following questions through an explanatory study. (i) What problems do public toilets pose? (ii) What toilet facilities do people require most and/or most emphasize would affect the way they use land and participate in social life? (iii) How do demands, needs, and expectations around public toilets change depending on gender, age, and ability? We conduct a survey of 300 people in fourteen public restrooms in the city centre of Ankara, Turkey. According to factor analysis results, public toilets should be seen as potential urban spaces and initial opportunities for sustainable urban developments and liveable cities.

Exploring the effectiveness of blended learning in interior design education

This study explores how blended learning can contribute to interior design students’ learning outcomes, their engagement with non-studio courses and affect their learning achievements. Within the framework of the study, a blended learning experience was carried out in ‘IAED 342 Building Performance’ module at Bilkent University, Turkey. A total of 120 interior architecture students were surveyed about their experiences on five fields of instruction: (1) course design, learning material and electronic course environment; (2) interaction between students and instructor; (3) interaction with peers; (4) individual learning process; and (5) course outcomes. Frequency distributions, chi-square factor and regression analyses were calculated. Four blended learning factors were developed and their contribution to learning outcomes was analysed. The results showed that teaching both online and face-to-face can create an effective learning environment for non-studio classes, while contributing to a considerable value for the interior design education in terms of teaching process.

The influence of sustainable design features on indoor environmental quality satisfaction in Turkish dwellings

The aim of this paper is to explore the influence of sustainable design features on occupants’ satisfaction levels with indoor environmental quality (IEQ) aspects in three types of dwellings. Satisfaction level was investigated through a field survey with 240 participants, in apartments, row and detached houses in Turkey. Satisfaction level was explored in terms of overall satisfaction with IEQ, with the efficiency of daily living activities and with sleeping quality. Satisfaction level was also investigated regarding the dwellings’ thermal, ventilation, lighting, sound level and moisture qualities. The findings indicate that the existence of exterior insulation, a thermostat, light dimmers and control of daylighting systems through operable windows have high impacts on the satisfaction level of occupants living in all three types of dwellings.

Ageing Engagement: Improving the Elderly Experience in Kitchen

Being the most used rooms in any home, the kitchen has evolved for decades in response to older users’ inclusive interaction. Therefore, understanding how older users engage with kitchens helps designers address inclusion of the elderly by eliminating physical, social and cultural barriers. This study further elaborates previously developed inclusive kitchen design factors (Afacan and Demirkan 2010) by adapting the ‘Design Wheel’ model proposed by Clarkson et al. (2011) with a focus on observations of 40 Turkish older users’ kitchen needs. By creating personas and answering the four fundamental questions of the model (1. What are the needs? 2. How can the needs be met? 3. How well are the needs met? 4. What should we do next?), it aimed to gain more insight into an elderly way of thinking and acting in relation to the inclusive kitchen design. Depending on the findings of task analyses and observation of the participants, three personas are created and the three need categories with a total of 10 kitchen need attributes are listed. A mock-up kitchen environment is also created and tested with reference to these needs.